WHEN MARCH WINDS BLOW. 131 



to have the power of keeping all evil from entering 

 the house. As I respect all traditions, I made no 

 inquiries after that pair of magpies ; but I felt con- 

 fident that their wings were firmly fixed on the 

 inside of my friend's cottage-door. 



This hill, and the hills beyond, are of chalk for- 

 mation, and pools, naturally formed by the hollows 

 that indent the surface, attract the waders and 

 swimmers for a short time as they pass on their 

 migrations to and fro, from the north and north- 

 east to the south and south-west. The farm hands 

 are surprised at times whilst they are ploughing by 

 seeing strange birds at least such as are strange 

 to them come from the clouds and settle to feed 

 in the furrows. These will be herring-gulls and 

 terns : the terns are far more frequent in putting in 

 for port than the gulls. It is a strange sight to 

 those who have never lived on the coast ; but there 

 is really nothing to wonder at in the birds coming 

 up for a short time to relieve their hunger, and it 

 is a rooted habit that of following the plough like 

 rooks. 



A couple of herring-gulls if you can get them, be 

 it well understood make a good dinner after they 



